C
Cymro
Enthusiast
Silver Level
So I was looking at my stats for hands in PT, I sorted them by how much I won with them, and while I made money on most of the AA-QQ hands I played, most of the big winners were suited connectors or middle-low pairs that I got lucky on the flop with.
So I'm wondering if there's any way I can squeeze more value out of these big starting hands. Specifically:
My experience with these hands, and much of the advice I've seen is that it's best to get as much money in the pot pre-flop and to never slow play, but this is really difficult in 2NL because very few players will raise pre-flop, let alone 3-Bet you, even with a decent hand. The problem is that if you try and get it in on the flop, the only people calling are fish who assume you're bluffing them, or someone who's possibly made a bigger hand.
So I'm wondering if there's any way I can squeeze more value out of these big starting hands. Specifically:
- What's the best way to open from EP? If I bet too high everyone thinks you have QQ+, it effectively shuts everyone out of the hand and I just pick up the blinds, or if I bet too low it invites people to call with crazy hands that can beat AA if they get lucky.
- How much should I 3-Bet a raised pot before the flop? Is it best to make a pot sized raise, or make it something smaller to invite more players to call or 4-bet?
- What's the best way to play them post-flop? Your opponent may have easily made a set, and you're there betting into them. You get re-raised All-In by the other guy, do you want to call or has he got something that beats a pair?
My experience with these hands, and much of the advice I've seen is that it's best to get as much money in the pot pre-flop and to never slow play, but this is really difficult in 2NL because very few players will raise pre-flop, let alone 3-Bet you, even with a decent hand. The problem is that if you try and get it in on the flop, the only people calling are fish who assume you're bluffing them, or someone who's possibly made a bigger hand.